Yesterday, the CRTC published its 2010 Communications Monitoring Report [pdf 7MB], the latest compendium of the state of the industry, as it stood at the end of the year 2009.
In an interview, IĀ observed to Network World Canada that the report shows that 75% of Canadians now enjoy residential internet service; two thirds of Canadians subscribe to broadband. But the CRTC’s report also shows that 95% of Canadians have access to at least oneĀ terrestrial broadband service supplier; 96% have access to a mobile broadband service and virtually everyone can access broadband when satellite-based service is included.
Yet one in three Canadians has not signed up for broadband.
Why?
Whatās holding them back? That to me is a far more important question for the government and policy makers than trying to figure out how to reach the three or four per cent that donāt have a wireline broadband choice.
Why arenāt we focusing on those folks?
I continuedĀ by wondering if there are too many households that donāt have computers.Ā I suggested thatĀ perhaps there should be a program to encourage computer ownership, especially where there are school-aged children in the household.
Thatās a digital divide that isnāt a rural and remote problem..
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Hi Mark,
Here’s a link to a paper I wrote 5 years ago about the digital divide in Canada: http://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1656/1794
The numbers have changed in the past few years (see the 2009 Statistics Canada numbers here), but I think some of the basic questions still apply. What can or should be done to encourage those who are not online to go online?
There is a good report exploring the digital divide in the US, written for the FCC to inform the National Broadband Plan. It argues that those in low income communities do want access to broadband, but face multiple, reinforcing barriers to access:
Dailey, D., Bryne, A., Powell, A., Karaganis, J., & Chung, J. (2010). Broadband Adoption in Low-Income Communities. Brooklyn, NY: Social Science Research Council. http://webarchive.ssrc.org/pdfs/Broadband_Adoption_v1.1.pdf.
There is more discussion of “The Cost of Digital Exclusion” on the FCC’s broadband blog: http://blog.broadband.gov/?entryId=236662.
Some summer reading for those interested in the digital divide.
Catherine Middleton
Ryerson University
http://www.broadbandresearch.ca
Hi Mark and Catherine:
Maybe this issue is another reason for the compulsory long-form census – to find out who the non-computer owners/non-broadband users are, where they are, why (socio-economic, ethnic, cultural, etc. factors) they don’t own a computer or use broadband.
With this information, government and industry could better direct their monies to reduce/eliminate the various divides that are out there.
Non-adopters of broadband fall into a few categories, but we should really only be worried about those who want it and have it available, but don’t subscribe.
I believe cost if the major factor in those cases, but the solutions are not clear. Basic broadband is available for $35 to $40 per month. Add the cost of a modest computer amortized over a few years, and you have a monthly expense that after tax, could approach $70-$100. Clearly this isn’t sustainable for low income households.
The question is, what is the right solution? Should we offer a subsidy out of general revenues? A tax on broadband to fund a subsidy for low income households? Encourage community housing authorities to provide broadband free or at low cost to residents (cheaper to buy together than each unit get a subscription from an ISP)? You can attack the cost issue by mandating a lower cost through regulation, by creating a subsidy or by changing the distribution model. I believe the latter is the most workable.
There’s 3 reasons:
1) Cost
2) Digital literacy
3) For some folks, the neighbour’s wifi works just fine (or they get their internet at work/school, see also reason #1)